Olga Hlad

Olga Hlad, 91, passed away peacefully on September 27, 2022 at LaSalle County Nursing Home, Ottawa, Illinois.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 52 years, Tony, and her beloved son Alan (1949-2005).

Olga was a very good self-taught artist who enjoyed drawing and painting. She created posters for the PTA when her children were enrolled in Chicago elementary schools. Later, she used her artistic skills to create posters advertising the church suppers of Immanuel Lutheran, her church in Marseilles, and in painting children’s faces during Bible School Week. She was also an excellent cook and baker of cakes from scratch. Olga loved a good cup of coffee. She was a very pretty woman and applied her eyebrows and lipstick expertly and without fail on a daily basis. Most of all, Olga was musical and could sing along with the best of the Big Band singers. She also loved to yodel and once won a yodeling contest! She also tremendously enjoyed singing with the choir of Immanuel Lutheran.  By the way, you could not find a bigger fan of the Golden Age of Horror Films (1920-1952) and you would think Dracula, The Wolfman and Frankenstein were her family members as she painted their portraits to hang on the walls of her home. Olga was a hard-working housewife who loved to do laundry and preferred to hang her wash outside rather than use a dryer and even helped her husband Tony with cement mixing on his renovation projects. She was very strong. After Olga and Tony retired to Lakeside, Arizona they enjoyed fishing, visits to the local casino and being in the beautiful White Mountains.

Olga leaves her daughters, Cookie (Ted) and Olga (Ray) and her son Tony (Cindy). Also daughter-in-law Arlene and grandchildren April (Jeff) and Aric.

Ma, good luck and Godspeed as you ascend to the next plane of existence, and we thank you for all the ways you shaped our lives. Rest in Peace.